hemp

But it took more than 12 years to find the gene that distinguishes them

(Newser) -
Note to legislators: Hemp is not weed. So say scientists at the University of Minnesota who, reporting last week in the journal New Phytologist , have discovered a single gene that distinguishes the hemp plant from its psychoactive cannabinoid cousin marijuana. They say it took 12 years to single out the...
More »

Hemp legalization advocate came up with the idea

(Newser) -
On Independence Day, the flag flying over the Capitol building in DC will be made of hemp. Colorado hemp advocate Michael Bowman came up with the idea, and Rep. Jared Polis, sponsor of a hemp amendment that could help get farmers back into the hemp-growing business, helped Bowman make it...
More »

Amendment to legalize it for research purposes passed, and it will be raised again

(Newser) -
It's looking more and more likely that US farmers will be getting back into the hemp-growing business. The latest hopeful sign for advocates came when the House passed an amendment that would make it legal for universities to grow hemp for research purposes—an important step if farmers ever...
More »

Possession of up to an ounce about to be decriminalized

(Newser) -
The Green Mountain State just got a little greener: Vermont's legislature has voted to make the state the 17th to loosen its marijuana laws, the Times Argus reports. A bill decriminalizing the possession of under an ounce of pot has passed both chambers and is now headed to the...
More »

Move will make it easy to resume production just in case feds ever give OK

(Newser) -
Kentucky's House and Senate have passed a bill that could help the state become a major producer of hemp once again—if the federal government ever lifts its ban on the crop. Lawmakers voted heavily in favor of a measure to quickly license industrial-scale hemp growers, the Lexington Herald-Leader...
More »

It doesn't mean what you think it means

(Newser) -
Mitch McConnell is making a lot of headlines for throwing his support yesterday behind a push to legalize hemp. But he's talking the industrial variety—a farm crop with nowhere near the potency of its marijuana cousin, reports NBC News . McConnell thinks Kentucky farmers should be able to grow...
More »

David Bronner locked self in cage ... along with hemp plants

(Newser) -
David Bronner knew how to make his arrest a complicated affair. The professional hemp grower locked himself in a 64-foot-square steel cage outside the White House and endured police warnings until firemen finally broke through with a chainsaw, the Washington Post reports. Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps,...
More »

Comedian says he's got prostate cancer, treats it with hemp oil

(Newser) -
Tommy Chong has prostate cancer, and he's using a very familiar weapon to fight it. "I'm treating it with hemp oil, with cannabis," he tells CNN . "So (legalizing marijuana) means a lot more to me than just being able to smoke a joint without being...
More »

Sorry, it won't get you high

(Newser) -
Don't bogart that bottle, my friend. In the counterculture world, "420" is the code for cannabis consumption, and April 20—or 4/20—is the holy day. On this April 20, the Alaska Distillery is introducing its hemp seed vodka. This is the same company that two years ago...
More »

Growing hemp won't harm drug war, say strapped ND growers

(Newser) -
The push to legalize hemp—marijuana’s less potent cousin—has some unlikely supporters: North Dakota farmers who couldn't be more conservative in every other respect, the New York Times reports. Hemp, used in clothing, lotions and even snack bars, has become especially attractive to North Dakota because of a...
More »